Well packer with expandible seals



IN V EN TOR.

Ellis B. Armstrong March 1952 E. B. ARMSTRONG -WELL PACKER WITH EXPANDIBLE SEALS Filed June 19, 19 50 I v lHHH Patented Mar. 18, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WELL PACKER WITH EXPANDIBLE SEALS Ellis B. Armstrong, Lubbock, Tex.

Application June 19, 1950, Serial No. 168,939

3 Claims. (01. 166

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in well packers of the type used for effecting a fluid seal between pipes and either surrounding tubing or the walls of a well hole.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a well packer which will effect a seal with surrounding walls upon a short stroke compressing the overall length of the packer assembly.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a device of this character, which includes jars for efficaciously breaking the sealing engagement of the same with the surrounding walls.

Still another important object of the present invention is to provide a packer of this character capable of effecting vertically spaced sealing engagements with surrounding walls to obtain a very high overall sealing efiiciency, because of the labyrinth gland principle involved.

A further important object of the invention is to provide a packer of the type which will permit a plurality of the same to be directed coupled in series for simultaneous use, where fluid pressures are very high, or where well hole walls are irregularly shaped.

A still further important object of the present invention is to provide a packer of this type, which is of simple and reliable construction, which will be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and which packer is readily discerptible for either replacement or repair of parts.

-A meritorious feature of the present invention resides in the bumper mandrel coacting with the packer body to constitute jars for eflicaciously breaking the sealing engagement of the packer with surrounding walls.

Another important feature of the present invention resides in the provision of coacting frustoconical complementary surfaces of the packer body and the hubs for expanding the annular sealing member surrounding the same.

Still another important feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a well packer which may be entirely disassembled upon breaking two threaded connections, and the arrangement being such that the annular packing seal may be replaced by only breaking one of 'such connections.

2 proceeds, are attained by the present invention, a preferred embodiment of which has been illustrated by way of example only in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a central vertical sectional view of the present invention, showing the same disposed in and in sealing engagement with a surrounding tubing;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, however, this view showing the packer in inoperative relation to the tubing; and,

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the present invention taken upon the plane of the I A "final important feature to be specifically enumerated herein resides in the use of shear pins'to yieldingly'retain the packer in extended or inoperative relation. 7

section line 33 of Figure l, and showing concealed portions of the packer in dotted outline.

Reference is now made more specifically to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals designate similar parts throughout the various views, and in which the well packer is designated generally at [0.

The packer I0 comprises a packer body I2 having a reduced exteriorly threaded extremity Id at its lower end provided with a passage l6 therethrough. The packer body I2 is counterbored from its upper end to provide an opening l8 communicating with the passage l6 with an annular shoulder 20 formed therebetween.

A bumper mandrel 22 slidably extends into the opening l8 and is engageable with the shoul der 20 to limit the inward movement of the same. A hub 24 is slidably mounted on the mandrel 22, which is of lesser internal diameter than the opening l8, and the hub 24 is in threaded engagement with the packer body I2 as at 26 so that the lower edge of the same constitutes a second annular shoulder 28 in the opening I8 to limit outward sliding movement of the mandrel 22, since the latter is provided with an enlarged lower extremity 30. v

The bumper mandrel 22 is provided with an axial bore 32 extending therethrough in axial alignment with the passage N5 of the packer body [2, and has its upper end in threaded connection 34 with a coupling hub 36. The hub 36 is hollow and the upper end of the same is interiorly threaded at 38 complementary to the threaded extremity l4, so that a plurality of packers l0 may be directly coupled in series, if desired, as will be readily understood.

A further hub 40 is slidably mounted on the mandrel 22 between the hub 24 and the hub 36, and it will be seen upon reference to the drawings that the upper end of the hub 40 is provided with an annular tapered recess 42 surrounding the mandrel 22 and that the upper end of the hub 40 terminates in a fiat portion 44. The lower end of the hub 36 is tapered as at 46 to be substantially complementary to the annular recess 42, the upper portion of the taper merging with an annular groove 48 that forms a shoulder 50 on the hub 36 that is spaced from the flat portion 44 of the hub 40, when the hubs 3B and 40 are in close juxtaposition to constitute a retaining seat'for an annular, expansible sealing member 52.

In a similar manner, the lower end of the hub 40 is tapered as at 54 to be complementary to an annular recess 56 at the upper end of the hub 24, the upper end of the hub 24 being fiat as at 58, and the hub 40 having a shoulder 60'to constitute an annular seat for an expansible annular sealing member 62.

As thus'far described, it will be apparent that from the initial positionsof the hubs 36, 49 and 24 shown in Figure 2, inward sliding movement of the bumper mandrel 22 into the packer body [2 will cause the hubs to move into the close relative position shown in Figure 1. t should be noted at this point that downward sliding movement of the hub 40 on the mandrel 22 is limited by virtue of the fact that the hub 40 is of lesser internal diameter than the hub 24, and the outside diameter of the mandrel is reduced in its upper portion to form an annular shoulder 64 upon which the hub 40 is. seated in Figure 2.

For introduction into the well hole, the hubs are normally retained in the relative position shown in Figure 2 by the provision of shear pins. The shear pin 66 extends through the packer body 12 into the enlarged portion 30 of the mandrel to normally retain the mandrel in its outermost position in the packer body I2, and a second shear pin 68 extends through the hub 40 into the mandrel to normally retain the hub 40 seated upon the shoulder 64. With the packer l assembled for insertion into a well hole as in Figure 2, the sealing rings 52 and 62 embrace the tapered portions of the hubs 35 and 40 and rest against the fiat portions 44 and 58 of the hubs 40 and 24, the arrangement being such that upon relative closing movement of the hubs, the fiat portions act against the ring members 52 and 62 to wedge the same outwardly on the tapered portions of the hubs until the position of the rings is closely adjacent the shoulders 50 and 60', so that the overall diameter of the sealing rings 52 and 62 has been extended so that they exceed the overall outside dimensions of the hubs and the packer body.

Further packing rings 12 are recessed into the inner sides of the hubs 40 and 24 to prevent the passage of fluid between such hubs and the mandrel.

as shown in Figure 2 and lowered into a well hole or tubing 10, in which condition it will be noted that the packing rings 52 and 62 clear the side walls of the tubing 10. Upon the well packer l0 reaching a predetermined position in the tubing 10, the mandrel 22 is urged downwardly into the packer body l2 by the weight of the pipe thereabove, such force being resisted by the provision of a tail pipe, not shown, on the packer body l2 or slips or the like. Such compressive force on the well packer will shear the pins 65 and 68.and cause the packer to assume the position shown in Figure 1, so that the rings 52 and In operation, the well packer I0 is assembled 62 are brought into sealing engagement with the tubing 10. When it is desired to break the sealing engagement of the well packer with the tubing 10, this may be emcaciously accomplished by the jarring action firstly of the shoulder 64 against the bottom of hub 40, and secondly the further jarring action of the enlarged portion 30 of the mandrel engaging the shoulders 20 and 28. It should also be noted that the ease with which the packer is disengaged from the tubing is greatly increased due to the fact that the packing rings are released independently. On raising the mandrel, the ring 52 is first freed of the tubing and subsequently the ring 62, it being observed that the rings may be resilient if desired.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art after a consideration of the foregoing specification and accompanying drawings, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, but all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A multiple packer comprising a mandrel having an enlarged lower end, a packer body having an opening with a shoulder formed therein, the enlarged lower end of the mandrel being slidably received in the opening and engageable with the shoulder to limit outward sliding movement thereof, a first hub fixed on said mandrel exteriorly of the body, a second hub slidably engaging the mandrel between the first hub and the body, fluid sealing means interposed between the second hub and the mandrel, and expansible annular packing means surrounding the mandrel between the hubs and also between the second hub and the body and responsive to relative closin movements thereof respectively to expand into operative position.

2. The combination of claim 1 including a shoulder on the mandrel limiting silding movement of the second hub towards the enlarged end of the mandrel.

3. The combination of claim 1, including a first shear pin in the enlarged lower end of the mandrel and also in the body and a second shear pin in the mandrel and in the second hub for retaining the hubs and the body in spaced relation.

ELLIS B. ARMSTRONG.

REFERENCES CITED I The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Johnson Dec. 4, 1945 

